Mosiah 5:1–5

No More Desire to Do Evil

King Benjamin addresses his people

At times, we may feel the need to make changes or improve something that we have been doing. King Benjamin’s people felt this way after listening to him speak of Jesus Christ and what He saves us from. This lesson can help you increase your desire to change or continue to change with the Lord’s help.

Acting on the Savior’s teachings. Jesus Christ taught true doctrine and principles so that our lives could be changed for the better. Consistently seek opportunities to invite students to take effective righteous action based on His teachings. Actions may be different for each student, but the Holy Ghost can help them identify what they can do to follow the Savior.

Student preparation: Consider inviting students to think about what causes them to want to come closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Possible Learning Activities

Becoming like Jesus Christ

Consider displaying the following images or bringing some of the objects to class if available. Then use questions like the following to help students think about how the objects’ transformations can be compared to us changing and becoming more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

ice cubes, water, and steam

coal

• What causes these objects’ change?

• What are reasons people change?

• How might the Lord changing our hearts be similar to or different from how these objects change?

Consider displaying the following statement or writing it on the board. Invite students to think about how much they feel the statement applies to them.

• I want the Lord to help me change for the better.

Invite students to consider why they feel the way they do. This could include pondering ways the Lord may have helped them in the past.

As you study Mosiah 5, look for reasons you may want to seek the Lord’s help to change and improve.

Experiencing a change of heart

After King Benjamin finished speaking to his people, he wanted to know if they “believed the words which he had spoken unto them” (Mosiah 5:1).

Read Mosiah 5:1–5 to see how they responded. It may be helpful to know that the word disposition refers to someone’s tendency or inclination, what they are prone to. You may also want to watch the video “The People of King Benjamin Make a Covenant” from time code 0:00 to 1:37, available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

To help students understand these verses better, you might invite them to copy and complete the following chart in their study journals. Or students could read the verses and mark what they find in their scriptures. For example, students could circle words and phrases that indicate how the people changed and underline words and phrases that indicate what caused the people to change.

How the people changed	What caused the people to change
How the people changed	What caused the people to change

You may want to invite students to share what they found. Invite students to summarize principles they learned. The following activity is one way they could do this.

Based on Mosiah 5:1–5, complete the following phrase.

As our hearts are changed through the Spirit of the Lord, we …

Students may complete the statement in a variety of ways. Some possible ways include, As our hearts are changed through the Spirit of the Lord, we …

• lose the desire to do evil and gain the desire to do good continually.

• feel joy.

• are willing to enter into covenants to obey commandments.

It might be helpful to invite students to list principles on the board and record them in their scriptures. Use some or all of the following questions to help students understand and ponder the importance of the truths they have identified.

It is important to understand that though King Benjamin’s people had “no more disposition [or inclination] to do evil” (Mosiah 5:2), this does not mean they never sinned again. Rather, the Lord had changed their hearts to sincerely desire to do good and to avoid sin.

• When have you, like King Benjamin’s people, had a strong desire to “do good continually”? What helped you feel this way?

• Why do you think many of us do not feel this way all the time?

• What do you think a person can do to feel this way more often?

Understanding change

Consider marking in Mosiah 5:3 the phrase “through the infinite goodness of God.” To truly understand the change that took place in King Benjamin’s people, we have to understand how Jesus Christ can help us change.

Sister Wendy W. Nelson explained:

Consider displaying the following statement and inviting students to look for words or phrases that impress them.

Sister Wendy W. Nelson

The Savior is the ultimate and only true and living change agent. He is the source of all change. … He will bring the very best out of you, as you turn to Him. He will indeed rescue all that is finest down deep inside of you. …

… He loves you. He loves your efforts to change.

His desire is for you to change, to over time, completely cast off the natural man, to have a change of heart, a change of nature. Jesus the Christ did all that He did so that you could change! He is your Savior and my Savior!

And as we actively, persistently plead for the power of His infinite and atoning sacrifice to be applied to our lives, His ultimate healing will bring to each of our lives the ultimate change we desperately seek. (Wendy W. Nelson, “Change: It’s Always a Possibility!” [Brigham Young University devotional, April 7, 1998], 10, speeches.byu.edu)

• According to Sister Nelson, what can Jesus Christ do to help us change?

• What did you learn about your role in changing?

Invite students to think of someone they know who has changed with the help of Jesus Christ. You could share the example of Ever in the video “A Change of Heart” (4:39), located on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. It may also help to share about someone you know who changed.

Then ask students questions like the following:

• How did the Lord help this person?

• What individual efforts did this person make to change?

• Why do you think these changes lead to greater joy?

Making the change permanent

To conclude your study, think about your life and your current progress toward becoming like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Ponder what you feel the Holy Ghost would have you do as a result of what you learned and felt.

Share your testimony that the Lord, through His Spirit, will help students change and become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Commentary and Background Information

Is a change of heart and desire immediate or does it take time?

Bradley R. Wilcox of the Young Men General Presidency stated:

Brother Bradley R. Wilcox

Forsaking sin and having “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” [Mosiah 5:2] are lifetime pursuits.

Life is like a cross-country road trip. We can’t reach our destination on one tank of gas. We must refill the tank over and over. Taking the sacrament is like pulling into the gas station. As we repent and renew our covenants, we pledge our willingness to keep the commandments, and God and Christ bless us with the Holy Spirit. In short, we promise to press forward on our journey, and God and Christ promise to refill the tank. (Bradley R. Wilcox, “Worthiness Is Not Flawlessness,” Liahona, Nov. 2021, 61–62)

Sister Becky Craven of the Young Women General Presidency taught:

Sister Becky Craven

The scriptures do not say that [King Benjamin’s people] immediately became perfect; rather, their desire to change compelled them to action. Their change of heart meant putting off the natural man or woman and yielding to the Spirit as they strove to become more like Jesus Christ. …

Combining our effort with the Savior’s ability to change us, we become new creatures. (Becky Craven, “Keep the Change,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 58)

What role does the Holy Ghost play in helping us change?

Brother Brian K. Ashton, then of the Sunday School General Presidency, explained:

Brother Brian K. Ashton

The process of sanctification not only cleanses us, but it also endows us with needed spiritual gifts or divine attributes of the Savior and changes our very nature, such “that we have no more disposition to do evil” [Mosiah 5:2]. Each time we receive the Holy Ghost into our lives through faith, repentance, ordinances, Christlike service, and other righteous endeavors, we are changed until step by step, little by little we become like Christ. (Brian K. Ashton, “The Doctrine of Christ,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 108)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Change is possible through the Lord’s help and our effort

If desired, students could spend more time exploring their own efforts to change and how the Lord helps us change. You could make a chart on the board and label one side The Lord’s Help and the other side Our Effort. Students could share ideas under each heading.

Students might list “feelings of hope,” “determination,” or “strength to try again” under “The Lord’s Help.”

They might list “prayer,” “sacrifice,” or “avoiding evil” under “Our Effort.”

The Holy Spirit and change

It may be helpful to remind students of the role of the Holy Ghost in helping us change. Invite students to review Mosiah 3:19, looking for what King Benjamin taught about the Holy Spirit and His role in helping us change. Students could compare this verse to how the people responded in Mosiah 5:2–3 and what they said about the Spirit of the Lord. You might ask students how the Holy Ghost has helped them change. Be sure to caution them to not share anything too personal or private.

Review important truths from King Benjamin’s sermon

Invite students to read or review Mosiah 5:1–5, looking for the importance of believing in the teachings of prophets and other Church leaders. Help students think about truths they have learned from inspired leaders that can increase their desire to do good and follow the Savior. Invite students to spend a few minutes reviewing truths they learned from King Benjamin’s speech in Mosiah 1–4. They could look for truths that they feel would bring them closer to the Lord and invite Him to change their heart. They could then answer the following questions:

• What are at least two truths you found?

• How might you exercise faith in these truths?

• As you exercise faith in these truths, how might the Lord change your desires and help you feel more joy?